The 215th Division () was created in November 1949 under ''the Regulation of the Redesignations of All Organizations and Units of the Army'', issued by Central Military Commission on November 1, 1948,
[《中央军委关于统一全军组织及部队番号的规定》, http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_7254c7350100xb56.html] basing on the 2nd Division, 1st Corps, 1st Army Group of the
People's Liberation Army of the Nationalist Party of China
People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Alten ...
. Its history can be traced to the 177th Division, 38th Corps of the
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
formed in March 1937, which defected along with the 1st Army Group of
Republic of China Army
The Republic of China Army (ROCA), previously known as the Chinese Nationalist Army or Nationalist Revolutionary Army and unofficially as the Taiwanese Army, is the largest branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. An estimated 80% of th ...
in August 1948. During its history in NRA, it took part in several major battles in the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
.
The division is part of
52nd Corps. Under the flag of 215th division it took part in the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
. In September 1951 the division was transferred to 21st Army Group's control following 52nd Corps' disbandment. In October 21st Army Group was reorganized as 55th Corps. In 1952 the division was renamed as 215th Infantry Division (). By then the division was composed of:
*643rd Infantry Regiment;
*644th Infantry Regiment;
*645th Infantry Regiment;
*544th Artillery Regiment.
In 1960 the division was renamed as 215th Army Division ().
In October 1969 the division was detached from the Army Corps and transferred to
Fuzhou Military Region's control. In December the division was renamed as 89th Army Division (), and all its regiments were renamed as follows:
*265th Infantry Regiment (former 643rd);
*266th Infantry Regiment (former 644th);
*267th Infantry Regiment (former 645th);
*Artillery Regiment (former 544th).
In April 1975 the division was transferred to
29th Army Corps' control.
In February 1976 the division was renamed as 87th Army Division (), and all its regiments were renamed as follows:
*259th Infantry Regiment (former 265th);
*260th Infantry Regiment (former 266th);
*261st Infantry Regiment (former 267th);
*Artillery Regiment.
In October 1985 the division was disbanded: its divisional HQ and artillery regiment was re-organized as 3rd Artillery Brigade of Nanjing Military Region; its 261st Infantry Regiment was transferred to
92nd Infantry Division.
References
*中国人民解放军各步兵师沿革，http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_a3f74a990101cp1q.html
{{People's Liberation Army Divisions
Infantry divisions of the People's Liberation Army
Military units and formations established in 1949
Military units and formations disestablished in 1985